One
by Nightcrawler's Shadow
Summary: After the loss of one of their teammates, the X Men sink into depression, while learning just a bit more about their fallen friend.
1. One Syllable

One Syllable

Disclaimer: Nope.

A/N: Here's a math problem: Me plus boredom times gothic music equals this one shot.

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It's interesting how one syllable can make you feel so many things.

Sadness, fear, heart break, to just name a few, where what every single one of the Institute's residence felt.

"S-say that a-again?" Jamie asked shakily, as the youngest, he was understandably having the hardest time.

Hank shook his head, tears building in his eyes, "I said…it was Kurt."

The noise that came from Kitty would haunt everyone as the girl fell to the ground with a cry, hugging herself and rocking back and forth.

It was soon that everyone else's minds were shattered.

Everyone else had gotten out, all but two in that massive explosion.

Those two had been Amara and Kurt.

The always selfless blue mutant had bamfed back into the building that had been a ticking time bomb thanks to the Acolytes.

Rogue just blinked, shaking her head in denial as she slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest.

Kurt had bamfed in and bamfed out just as the building exploded.

They had rushed their teammates back to the mansion and now; they learnt that only one of them had survived.

And it hadn't been Kurt.

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Hank couldn't hold back his own tears as the X Men fell apart. It truly wasn't fair how quickly one person's life could be taken away.

"C-can we see him?" Rahne asked quietly.

Hank couldn't say no, "Of course." He stepped out of the way as the mutants all filed in, silent aside from sobs and whimpers.

Kitty nearly lost it again when she saw him lying there.

His fur was still a stark contrast against the white sheets. If they hadn't known better, they would've sworn he was sleeping; but there was now rising or falling of his chest, no soft sweeping noise as his tail slid back and forth under the covers. He wasn't there anymore.

Rogue sobbed as she removed her gloves, placing her bare hands on his shoulders and running her fingers through his fur. She cried even harder when she felt no pull from her mutation.

Evan wrapped his arms around her shoulders and let her cry into his chest.

"Wake up K-Man, wake up." He whispered softly in a tearful voice, but everyone heard him and it broke their hearts.

Kitty went over to the opposite side of the bed and took his hand with hers.

He was cold to her touch.

She whimpered and fell to her knees, crying as hard as his sister.

The rest of the X Men and the New Mutants surrounded the bed; there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"Hey, what's going on?" Amara questioned as she woke up, wondering why everyone was crowded around the bed opposite her.

"Who died?" she questioned at their expressions.

"Shut up!" everyone jumped and turned their gazes to the person who had yelled the order.

It had been Jamie.

"Just shut up! You don't know what you're saying!" he choked on a sob and Jubilee hugged the younger boy, hushing him softly.

Amara's expression became stricken and she stumbled from her bed. "No, please no."

She ran to the other side of the room and nearly screamed when she saw the unmoving of her saviour. She had to grab Bobby to keep from falling as it was. The Brazilian quickly joined the rest of her teammates in crying.

"It's not fair it's just not fair!" she ranted, slapping Iceman on the chest. The boy just held his friend tighter.

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A/N: I know, not one of my happier pieces, I actually think I'm going to expand on this.


	2. One Year

One Year

Disclaimer: I'll own the X Men the day Marvel decides to sell them!

One year, it had been one year since they lost him. One year since the funeral, one year since Scott had led an attack on the Acolytes that left the older mutants whimpering and one year since they destroyed the image inducer that had hid their friend's true face from the world.

They'd left his room alone, unable to change it or give it to someone else, but it wasn't unknown for someone to find themselves in the room, taking in the feeling of their lost friend.

Rogue and Kitty were the most current visitors.

Seated back to back in the center of the room, they let their tears fall.

The Goth stood and grabbed a blanket from the bed, wrapping around the two of them.

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"I had an interesting dream last night." Jean stated softly.

"What was it about?" Scott questioned, just as quiet.

The red head sighed, "Nothing really clear but...there was a lot of brimstone and fire if I remember correctly."

Scott stiffened, "Jean..._please_ I-I can't..."

Jean nodded, "I'm sorry." He gave her a forced grin.

"Not your fault." She nodded and they were quick to hug each other, trying to find solstice in each other's arms.

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Logan sliced through yet another metal tentacle that swung his way, but it lacked his regular ferocity.

"Freeze program." He ordered clearly, his vocal command quickly followed by the sound of the Danger Room pausing.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, this wasn't right. Nothing was right anymore.

He shook his head and started in the direction of the door, "End program." He hadn't even been training for fifteen minutes, but then, that was the longest he'd managed to stay in the room before the memories became too much.

It was strange; one year ago he would've killed for his memories, now he just wanted his thoughts to be a blank slate.

His mind drifted to the first time he met Kurt, the boy had been...different.

And Logan wasn't thinking about his appearance. The elf had been genuinely glad to meet everyone at the Institute, and that had included the Wolverine.

Logan was used to the typical reactions, fear, unease, that sort of thing. He had been used to it like Kurt had been used to having people scream at the sight of him.

Just because they were used to it didn't mean it hadn't hurt.

But weirdly enough, the little squirrel hadn't been scared, or even nervous. In fact, the minute Kurt had been told, "This is Logan, aka Wolverine." He'd given the burley Canadian a fanged grin. Logan had been stunned for a minute until he realized the pipsqueak was actually smiling...at _him_.

Not at Ororo who stood behind him, or Chuck who was to his right, but at him.

"Nice to meet you Herr Logan." Again, there hadn't been a note of shakiness in his voice as he held out his hand.

To say the least, Logan was impressed.

He'd shook his head and the elf's hand and greeted him as well, letting the hint of a smile come to his face.

And now...Logan closed his eyes, almost like he was in pain, now everything was wrong.

The squirrel was dead, Scott and Jean were barely there, Kitty hardly went a day without crying, Rogue had latched onto Spyke and Kitty like she'd never let go and Evan wandered around the mansion looking lost, while the rest of the residents tried to go about their normal lives, even if they lacked a certain blue fur ball waking them up at some ungodly hour in the morning.

Everyone was always looking for some sign of Kurt, but at the same time, dreading the memories those sorts of things brought back.

Everything was wrong.

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Jamie fingered the smooth beads; Rahne sat beside him, following the movements with her keen hazel eyes.

Jamie closed his eyes, "No matter how many times I pray...It doesn't feel right without him." Rahne nodded, everyone held Kurt in a certain place in their lives that now felt empty.

Jamie, being the youngest, had often been left out. Kurt had taken the boy under his wing (~_Or tail. ~_ Rahne thought with a sad smile) and had started teaching him, about many different things. One of their more prominent lessons had been Religion. Jamie had grown up without one, but Kurt had introduced him to Christianity, but at the same time, taught him how it was still the same God everyone worshipped, they just did it different ways.

The rosary had been Kurt's, and the blue mutant had given it to his young friend as a gift.

Rahne had lost her running buddy.

She and Kurt would often race each other, her in her wolf form, he on all fours. They'd also formed a sibling bond and she missed him more than she thought possible.

To everyone, it felt like they'd lost a piece of themselves, like they'd been dealt a deep wound that was slowly killing them.

And it wouldn't heal.

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Amara let her tears soak her pillow. It was her fault, it was all her fault.

If she'd been faster, he would still be alive.

If she'd paid more attention, he'd be playing some prank right now.

If she had thought for one second about the consequences of her actions...

The Institute would still feel like home to everyone.

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"_Scheisse!" (Shit!)_

Kurt growled and tried to teleport again.

~_Work! For God's sake, work! ~_

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A/N: Logan's reaction was based on the review I got from BamfIsAwsome, thanks for the inspiration!

And was the last part confusing?

Yes?

Good.

-laughs evilly until she is tackled by her younger sister and told to shut up before her entire wardrobe is replaced with pink dresses-

Please review! If you do I'll update it a few days (cough two cough cough) or I could wait a little longer (cough two weeks cough cough)

I make a living out of being evil.


	3. One Discovery

One Discovery

Disclaimer: Ich bin nicht Besitzer der X-Men! ( I don't own the X Men!)

A/N: My friend P.I.M. expressed wishes to see Charles' and Ororo's thoughts, so the first bit of this chapter owes its life to her!

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Charles massaged the bridge of his nose, it was days like this he despised being able to read minds.

And these days had been happening for an entire year without respite.

The loss of Kurt had hit everyone harder than he imagined, it turned out that a lot of them had depended on Kurt for a lot more than they suspected.

Charles never thought for a second who took care of the younger students when they had a nightmare or were homesick. He'd never wondered who brought him a steaming cup of tea while he was in Cerebro for long periods of time.

He'd never suspected that one boy did so much, for so many and never let anyone know.

That thought brought tears to his aged eyes. Losing one of his X Men had been like losing his own child.

His headache renewed and he let a fear tears fall before trying to focus on keeping everyone else out of his mind.

His own thoughts were hard enough to deal with.

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Ororo, goddess of the elements, queen of the air, commander of the rain, struggled to keep her own emotions under control. If she didn't, there was little doubt that the aftermath would be hard to tidy up.

She was having enough trouble keeping her plants alive, but it was a struggle to care for them, and nurture them back to health, when she couldn't do the same for her little cat.

That was what Kurt had been for her, in a way; he would curl up in the rafters of her sun room, or maybe under one of the tables if it was too hot. She could talk to him and he would listen and comment occasionally, letting her relax.

He had just been there and it had been nice, but she didn't have that anymore, and she wouldn't have it again.

Their family was falling apart, because of one stupid mistake, one minute, one second.

They'd all gone through it over and over again in their minds, thinking about things they could've done, should've done. Things that would've gotten everyone out a few seconds faster.

But they hadn't.

And they couldn't change that.

Dark clouds obscured the sky and rain began to pour.

People looked to the sky, everyone wondering 'Why the sudden change in weather?'

The residents of the mansion knew better though, and soon the sun room was filled with people crowding around the weather witch, crying their own tears as they attempted to heal broken hearts, both their own, and those of others.

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"Guys! You've gotta check this out!" Forge barrelled into the mansion, startling everyone in the main entry.

"What is that thing?" Kitty asked tentatively, it looked a lot like that thing that had sent Kurt into Middleverse, except it was connected to a tall base that reached Forge's waist. He also pushed a cart piled with wires and other pieces of equipment. On the very top was a screen about half the size of Kitty's laptop.

"Okay, so I was going through some of my old data from when we tested Nightcrawler's teleportation, and check _this_ out! I was doing some tests on his DNA when I noticed something weird..."

"At which point was he normal?" Evan asked sadly, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans, talking about Kurt brought everyone down as was proven as everyone's faces slowly became depressed and sad. Kitty already looked seconds from crying.

"No, no, see, you know how his mom is Mystique?" everyone nodded.

"Well, his dad, I don't think he was human, or even mutant."

"Why do you say that?" Jean questioned as she helped Forge set up his equipment.

"There some weird anomalies in his DNA, even weirder than a normal mutants!"

"What does this have to do with...whatever the hell that thing is?" Rogue asked, starting to get annoyed with the genius.

Forge gave them a bright smile, "What do you know about demons?"

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Everyone stared at Forge in disbelief.

"No, impossible. He's gone, he's dead, we _buried_ him for God's sake!" Rahne yelled vehemently.

Forge just smiled, "Yes, _but_ who's to say he's still there?"

Everyone just shook their heads, "You're crazy Forge." Scott stated.

"So what if I am?! Does that mean you don't want to take the chance that he's alive?!" Everyone was silent.

"So what do you say?"

There were shared looks all around before Kitty stepped forward.

"Do it."

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Kurt growled as he leapt from rock to rock, avoiding the pools and rivers of lava that bubbled along below him.

He snarled as one of those creatures came close to him. It quickly retreated as his fangs flashed.

~_I need to get out! ~_

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A/N: Yeah, I couldn't kill the elf and keep him dead.


	4. One Chance

One Chance

Disclaimer: Yes! No wait, uh, no I don't own the X Men. (and if you listen carefully you can actually hear a thousand lawyers scream)

Forge pressed several buttons, attached several wires and soon, the machine was up and running.

A soft whirring was heard before the screen blinked to life, showing them an extremely fuzzy picture of that dimension Kurt had teleported through.

"How?" everyone asked in a stunned voice. They had no idea how Forge had managed to get live video feed of another dimension.

Forge grinned, "Absolute chance." And apparently he had no idea how he'd done it either.

Everyone was silent as Forge pattered away at his keyboard, keeping a sharp eye on the screen.

"What was that?!" everyone drew their gazes back to the video footage to see a dark shape leaping from cliff to cliff.

"Impossible..." Jean whispered.

But it was undeniable; those easily executed moves belonged to one person.

"Can you?" Evan asked a half question.

"If he tries to teleport." Forge answered.

~_Please Kurt, please try. ~_ Kitty prayed along with everyone else. They were so close.

Jean closed her eyes and focused all her energy.

~Teleport...teleport...please try for us...~

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Kurt froze; he could've sworn he just heard...

~Teleport...please try for us...~

He closed his eyes, locking his thoughts on Jean's.

"I'll try."

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A/N: Super short chapter! But don't you just love the suspense, and who knows? Kurt might not come home, or the him still being alive could just be someone's dream...


	5. One Home

One Home

Disclaimer: This is getting redundant.

A/N: I couldn't keep you guys in suspense any longer! Plus, because I'm a genius (is hit on back of head by bets friend) okay, okay sheesh, I was just joking...anyway, because I'm good at school, I was able to finish this chapter and put it up for you, while getting my ego knocked down a peg or two.

Enjoy!

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Charles, followed by Ororo and Logan, entered the entryway to see Forge pattering away on a keyboard that was set amongst the wires and equipment he'd brought with him. The students surrounded him, looks of anxiety, and strangely enough, hope on their faces.

"What's going on?" Logan demanded, vividly remembering what had nearly happened to Kurt with one of Forge's earlier inventions.

As the situation was explained the adults' eyes widened, Ororo's jaw went slack and Logan had to grab the stairs banister to keep from falling.

"You are...positive?" the Professor asked hopefully.

Forge nodded, not looking up from the keyboard, "He just needs to-"

Forge's machine went crazy and everyone watched as a bright line of light shot out from it.

It stopped in the middle of the room and there was a loud crack and a flash of red light causing everyone to shield their eyes.

But when they opened them again, nothing had changed, Kurt still wasn't there and Forge's machine was smoking, the screen dark.

Kitty's tears started a second before everyone else's.

"I...I thought..." Forge stared in disbelief at his machine.

~_It should have worked. ~_

It was a flashback to the day he died; there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Their sobs were interrupted, by a soft and familiar 'BAMF'.

They heard a low moan and looked up to have their jaws drop.

Hanging upside down from the chandelier...was Kurt.

His golden eyes opened and he looked down at them, looking stunned.

He dropped from the light and flipped in midair to land in front of them on all fours.

There was absolute silence as he stood, looking taller and most certainly a year older, he wore nothing but a pair of severely ragged pants, his hair brushed his shoulders and hung in front of his eyes but he was still Kurt.

Kitty slowly slipped from where Evan had been holding her. She walked slowly over to him and soon she stood barely a few centimetres from him.

She lifted her hand and it hovered over his cheek before she slowly placed it against his soft and warm skin.

A smile spread across her face at the same time one did across Kurt's.

"You're alive."

The blue mutant grinned, thinking somewhere in the back of his mind he needed a sarcastic or joking reply, but was unable to form the words and instead grabbed Kitty in a bone breaking hug that she returned just as strongly.

That action snapped everyone out of their shocked stupors and before Nightcrawler knew it, he was in the center of a group hug. His friends all crying and smiling at the same time.

They were slow to release him, but he was quick to greet each of them individually.

First came Rogue who he hugged just as tightly as Kitty. The girl cried softly, her makeup having been completely removed by her nonstop tears.

He felt something similar to an electric shock as she tapped him.

"Just makin' sure." She said softly.

He chuckled and was soon grabbed in a brotherly hug by Evan and Scott at the same time.

"You know, I vas hoping you'd gained some patience." He muttered good naturedly.

After he'd been released from their hold, he was crushed in a hug from, much to his and everyone else's surprise, Logan.

Wolverine let go several seconds later and ruffled his hair, "Hey Elf." He said in a choked voice.

Kurt didn't have a chance to reply as he was grabbed by Ororo and hugged tightly, "Oh thank the Goddess!" she cried. Outside the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly.

Kurt chuckled before he was glomped from either side by Jamie and Rahne.

He hugged his surrogate younger siblings.

"Kurt." He looked up to see Amara standing before him, fidgeting.

He gave her a grin, "Glad to know you're alright Princess."

She let out a sob and jumped on him, causing him to freeze, but hugged the smaller girl back.

"I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry." She whispered.

He pushed her away slightly, "Nothing to be sorry for, Amara."

She gave him a watery smile, before backing away and letting the others welcome him back.

"Just one question." He started after he'd gotten hugged by both Jean and the Professor, "How _did_ I get back?"

Everyone looked to Forge.

Kurt blinked before walking over to his friend, noticing that he was now slightly taller than the boy genius.

Forge shrugged, "Had to return the favour."

That made Kurt laugh as he hugged him, thanking him in both German and English.

After he had finished his rambling, he found himself stuck in an embrace by Kitty yet again.

"We missed you so much Fuzzy." She whispered.

He wrapped an arm around her as she buried her face in his fur, "I missed you too."

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Hahahahah he LIVES! Yep, I didn't keep him dead, don't you just love me! I hope that you enjoyed the story and it wasn't a total waste of your time.

Explanations: (because I couldn't find a way to put these into the story)

**Jean's dream:** Kurt was projecting his thoughts quite loudly even if he didn't know it. Jean, because everyone was thinking about him a lot already, was more open to his thoughts.

**Kurt in the brimstone dimension**: Kurt's half demon genetics allowed him to be teleported to the brimstone dimension where his connection to the dimension allowed him to heal rapidly, but as was shown in 'Shadow Dance', he couldn't teleport while he was teleporting. Forge's machine helped fix that and snap him back to the real world.

A/N: You know, I rewrote a fair amount of this chapter; it was way shorter, and way suckier!

Review, damn it!


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